Talk:Arnold Bax

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Featured articleArnold Bax is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.
Main Page trophyThis article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on March 18, 2020.
Article milestones
DateProcessResult
October 9, 2015Peer reviewReviewed
October 31, 2015Featured article candidatePromoted
On this day...Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on November 8, 2021, and November 8, 2023.
Current status: Featured article

Magister[edit]

No mention of the book based on the life of Arnold Bax, "Magister" by Jonathan Wylie? The main character, Edward Beck, is based on Bax. Interesting book, as it is a fantasy book with an historical base. Never heard of Arnold Bax before I read it! Maybe of interest for the page? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.153.85.67 (talk) 00:27, 11 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Sorabji about Bax Symphonic Variations[edit]

Sorabji writes in Around Music about Bax Symphonic Variations: "It occasionally reaches a pitch of fantastic and imaginative beauty that Bax touches nowhere else except in The Garden of Fand. It is incontestably one of the finest concerted works of the present day"

Dates of Knighthoods[edit]

He was knighted twice: in 1937 as a knight bachelor, and in 1953 as a KCVO. I'm having trouble finding out the precise dates of the knighthoods. In particular, was the 1953 KCVO a Coronation Honour or a New Years Day honour, or was it made at some other time? JackofOz 02:02, 7 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This article appears to be just about identical to...[edit]

the article here:

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Bax-Arnold.htm

all the way through to the Research and Scholarship section. Perhaps the same person provided both articles -- it's hard to tell.

Davesofnj 22:44, 1 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm surprised no one has commented on this since the similarity between the two articles is either a huge coincidence or an even larger copyvio, complicated by the fact there are virtually no in-line citations. How did something like this receive a B rating, let along stay in Wikipedia in the first place? Jonyungk (talk) 21:24, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Umm, the site itself credits WP as the source. Magic♪piano 22:46, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Umm ... whoops. Sorry 'bout that. Jonyungk (talk) 00:35, 27 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Pronunciation[edit]

How do you pronounce this guy's last name? Does it rhyme with "tax"? Something tells me that's too easy. Westknife (talk) 17:37, 1 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Tax, Flax, Bax... It really *is* that easy. Ronald Neame was on TV, a decade or so back, talking about the experience of recording the Oliver Twist score for David Lean. He said it the same way... and I have it on video...! Pfistermeister (talk) 23:09, 1 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Reception[edit]

The discussion about the reception is a bit thin - some Bax pieces had been recorded other than the symphonies, before the 1950s. Tintagel (at one time his most popular orchestral work) and the Nonet, to name but two. The "long-deleted" symphony was the Third, which was once a recurring item in Proms programmes, recorded in wartime with a British Council subsidy by the Halle and Barbirolli, and the other, on the "obscure label" the Fourth, recorded under the young Vernon Handley. Both might have ben credited properly. Delahays (talk) 15:12, 26 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Composer project review[edit]

I've reviewed this article as part of the Composers project review of its B-class articles. This is a B-class article, mostly for stylistic (WP:MOS-related) reasons; fixing enough of those might get the article an A rating. My full review is on the comments page; questions and comments should be left here or on my talk page. Magic♪piano 14:39, 13 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Assessment comment[edit]

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Arnold Bax/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Comment(s)Press [show] to view →
;Composers Project Assessment of Arnold Bax: 2024-04-23

This is an assessment of article Arnold Bax by a member of the Composers project, according to its assessment criteria. This review was done by Magicpiano.

If an article is well-cited, the reviewer is assuming that the article reflects reasonably current scholarship, and deficiencies in the historical record that are documented in a particular area will be appropriately scored. If insufficient inline citations are present, the reviewer will assume that deficiencies in that area may be cured, and that area may be scored down.

Adherence to overall Wikipedia standards (WP:MOS, WP:WIAGA, WP:WIAFA) are the reviewer's opinion, and are not a substitute for the Wikipedia's processes for awarding Good Article or Featured Article status.

Origins/family background/studies

Does the article reflect what is known about the composer's background and childhood? If s/he received musical training as a child, who from, is the experience and nature of the early teachers' influences described?

  • ok
Early career

Does the article indicate when s/he started composing, discuss early style, success/failure? Are other pedagogic and personal influences from this time on his/her music discussed?

  • ok
Mature career

Does the article discuss his/her adult life and composition history? Are other pedagogic and personal influences from this time on his/her music discussed?

  • ok
List(s) of works

Are lists of the composer's works in WP, linked from this article? If there are special catalogs (e.g. Köchel for Mozart, Hoboken for Haydn), are they used? If the composer has written more than 20-30 works, any exhaustive listing should be placed in a separate article.

  • ok; should probably be split into another article
Critical appreciation

Does the article discuss his/her style, reception by critics and the public (both during his/her life, and over time)?

  • ok
Illustrations and sound clips

Does the article contain images of its subject, birthplace, gravesite or other memorials, important residences, manuscript pages, museums, etc? Does it contain samples of the composer's work (as composer and/or performer, if appropriate)? (Note that since many 20th-century works are copyrighted, it may not be possible to acquire more than brief fair use samples of those works, but efforts should be made to do so.) If an article is of high enough quality, do its images and media comply with image use policy and non-free content policy? (Adherence to these is needed for Good Article or Featured Article consideration, and is apparently a common reason for nominations being quick-failed.)

  • No images or sound.
References, sources and bibliography

Does the article contain a suitable number of references? Does it contain sufficient inline citations? (For an article to pass Good Article nomination, every paragraph possibly excepting those in the lead, and every direct quotation, should have at least one footnote.) If appropriate, does it include Further Reading or Bibliography beyond the cited references?

  • Article has references; only one inline cite.
Structure and compliance with WP:MOS

Does the article comply with Wikipedia style and layout guidelines, especially WP:MOS, WP:LEAD, WP:LAYOUT, and possibly WP:SIZE? (Article length is not generally significant, although Featured Articles Candidates may be questioned for excessive length.)

  • Lead is short; "Bibliography" should be "Sources" or similar
Things that may be necessary to pass a Good Article review
  • Article requires more inline citations (WP:CITE)
  • Article lead needs work (WP:LEAD)
  • Article footer material needs organization (WP:LAYOUT)
  • Article needs (more) images and/or other media (MOS:IMAGE)
Summary

This is a decent and fairly readable article. While the language could use some polish, the article adequately covers the personal, professional, and musical aspects of Bax's life, as well as giving background on his musical style and influences, and critical and popular appreciation.

That said, there are structural issues with the article. The lead is short; the article needs images to break up the text. The footer section named "Bibliography" needs to be renamed; such a section is supposed to be used for works by the subject. (This article should have such section, since Bax did some writing.) The works list is sufficiently long that it should be placed in a separate "List of compositions by" page. Finally, any formal review will require the article to contain inline citations.

Article is B-class. Magic♪piano 14:37, 13 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Last edited at 14:37, 13 March 2009 (UTC). Substituted at 08:16, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

Birthplace[edit]

Would anyone happen to know exactly where Bax was born/lived in Streatham? I used to live there some years ago, literally just down the road from that Cynthia Payne, although I didn't know it at the time. Also, no mention of In a Vodka Shop in the article, considering he ended up living above a pub. >MinorProphet (talk) 00:25, 12 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Lol it appears I used to live four streets away.  Done

Recent vandalism[edit]

Please protect this page? Victionarier (talk) 12:06, 18 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Sound recordings[edit]

Now that his copyrights have expired, are there any free-licence recordings of his music which we can upload to the Commons? His category is empty so far. Robin S. Taylor (talk) 13:31, 11 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]